The Latest

by Wes Sanders

Interested in becoming Adoptive or Foster Parents? Georgia MENTOR can help!

Message from Aubrey Walsh of Georgia Mentor:

 

I am the foster parent recruiter for Georgia MENTOR. Our office is located in Warner Robins but we have offices also in Atlanta, Albany, Augusta, and Savannah.

Georgia MENTOR is a child placing agency that partners with The MENTOR Network, LLC and is contracted through The Department of Family and Children Services of Georgia. At The MENTOR Network, we believe that children belong in families and deserve to live in homes where they can feel safe, valued and loved. Continue reading →

by Wes Sanders

Pictures: Exquisite Gender raises $1700 to support Joan Garner AIDS Watch Scholarship

In their first public appearance, local Atlanta all-trans band, Exquisite Gender raised $1,700 to support the Joan P. Garner AIDS Watch Scholarship fund, sending a local young person living with HIV to Washington, DC to speak directly with members of Congress and their staffs about the needs of young people living with HIV in Georgia! Our greatest of thanks to all the musicians, singers, dancers, and others who were involved in making the show an absolute success! Read more about Exquisite Gender here. Continue reading →

by Wes Sanders

ICYMI: LGBTQ Advocates Descend on State Capitol for Lobbying and Rally!

Time to Rally!

Supporters of LGBTQ families and youth rallied against SB 375 this week, a bill that would allow taxpayer-funded adoption and child welfare agencies to refuse to work with same-sex couples, and would even allow agencies to deny services to LGBTQ youth. Georgians from all walks of life – including state and national advocacy groups, faith leaders, members of the business and entertainment communities, and LGBTQ families and allies turned out in large numbers to express their opposition to the discriminatory bill. Prior to the rally, 80 supporters met with lawmakers from across the state as part of Georgia Equality’s lobby day. A top priority of the lobby visits was to communicate to lawmakers the broad opposition to SB 375. Continue reading →

by Wes Sanders

Breaking: License to Discriminate Legislation Clears Georgia Senate

RALLY to #StopSB375: March 1st

Lawmakers in the Georgia Senate have advanced SB 375, an anti-LGBT “License to Discriminate” bill, by a 35 to 19 vote. The legislation would allow taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to turn away same-sex couples and even refuse to work with children in need who identify as LGBT. The discriminatory bill stands to impact the approximately 14,000 children in the state’s foster and child welfare system.

Continue reading →

by Wes Sanders

Discriminatory Anti-LGBT Adoption Bill Advances to Full Senate, LGBTQ Lobby Day March 1st!

SB 375, an anti-LGBT “License to Discriminate” bill Georgia Equality legislative issuesthat would allow taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to turn away same-sex couples, advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this morning. The bill could come before the full Senate as early as tomorrow.

“There are no winners with SB 375,” said Jeff Graham, Georgia Equality’s Executive Director. “This bill does not help the thousands of young people in our state’s adoption and foster care system. It does not help loving parents who are looking to open their homes to children in need, either through fostering or adoption. It does not help our state’s economic image – particularly at this crucial juncture in our bid to bring up to 50,000 new and high-paying jobs to our state through Amazon. There are only losers with this bill: children denied permanent and loving homes, and potential parents coldly turned away simply because of who they are.” Continue reading →